Off The Lip
10.Generating Speed
11.Floaters
12.Slash
13.Reo (Off the Lip)
14.Carves
15.Tail Slides
16.Late Takeoffs
17.Layback Snap
18.Foam Climbs
19.360
20.Backside 360
21.Roundhouse Cutback
22.Backside Roundhouse
23.Surfing Big Waves
24.Tube Ride
13. Reo's (Off the Lip)
An off the lip, commonly known as a Reo which stands for Re-Entry. Iis when you do a top turn and you re-enter back into the wave using the lip rather than just going off the back of it! You can either do a Reo at the very top of the wave or off the wash or the lip!
An off the lip is a critical maneuver that every surfer should have in their bag of tricks and is a crucial stepping-stone you need to take before you start to try and learn airs.
off the lips look best when you (a) Hit the lip high and fast (b) do a low smooth bottom turn, not one done in lots of small stages and (c) get your board vertical.
A well executed Reo will feel awesome and propel you into the next section with loads of speed. They are usually done anywhere down the line of the wave where the lip is pitching out or crumbling. Another popular section is on a closeout section when the whole wave is about to break and you have one last chance to do a turn…. An off the lip is a great turn to do here.
So How Do We Do Off The Lips?
Lets start with the Frontside Reo
A good Reo all starts with a good bottom turn! So like we have been practicing you need to do a nice low solid bottom turn that you are going to get loads of drive out of, the more drive, power and speed you get out of your bottom turn the harder you are going to be able to hit the lip. Look up the face at the lip… or more accurately where the lip is going to appear, in an ideal world you want the lip to appear just as your coming off the bottom so timing and knowing how to read the wave is key here.
Once you get to the top you will have your two options available to you, turn back down the wave or hit the lip and be knocked/pushed back down the wave. If when you get to the top of the wave and there isn’t a lip then a turn back down is the option for you. To do this you need to really torque your body round, Point your arms back towards the beach and turn your head so you are looking down the wave, distribute the weight over your feet and use your back foot to initiate the turn back down. Once you get to the bottom wait for that smile to hit your face because you have just nailed a top turn!
An off the lip or Reo which involves using the lip or wash to turn down is a little more difficult than the top turn because you have to get used to the way you and your board gets propelled back down the wave by the lip but if you hit it right the feeling is amazing. The technique is exactly the same as the top turn but you need to wait a split second longer for the lip to hit your board. If you hit too late and fly off the back off wave don’t sweat it, the more you practice the easier the timing will come! Once you have got them dialled you can step up the difficulty and wow factor by trying to get your board more vertical each time until you can get your board pointing straight up in the 12 o’clock position.
Backside Off The Lips
When learning Frontside and backside Reo’s you will probably find that backside ones come a lot easier than Frontside, this is because the whole turn stage happens in front of you rather than behind.
So like with Frontside you need to get a good bottom turn in, the key with backside ones is getting torque up the face from your bottom turn so you can go into your top turn or off the lip with loads of speed to carry you through the turn. So when you come off the bottom twist those shoulders and turn your head and look at the top of the wave where you want to do a turn. When you get to the top of the wave and there is no lip to hit just do a standard backside top turn. When you get to the top of the wave turn your shoulders back down and look down at your landing point, evenly distribute the weight over your feet and use your back foot to turn back down the wave. Remember when you are coming down don’t put too much weight on your front foot otherwise you will nose dive.
When you come off the bottom and there is a lip to hit the most important thing to remember is don’t be intimidated by it. Go into the turn thinking you are going to smash that lip and ride out of it! As soon as you have the slightest moment of doubt in your head that your going to get taken out… you will! A lot of it is in your mind as to whether or not you are going to make the off the lip!